Revenge Or Love ✔

Chapter 26 Arthur

Arthur POV.

When I receive my father's call, it's noon, and I'm feeding Clara. She's reluctant to eat more after she's full, so I gently touch her mouth with a spoon of soup to coax her to take a few more bites.

Then she opens her mouth again.

The maid comes to clean up the dishes and says, "Miss Clara has a better appetite today."

I nod, wipe Clara's mouth, and give her a kiss.

Then I stand up and say to the maid, "I'm going out later and won't be back until tonight. Please take good care of her."

Since I took over the company officially, I haven't met my dad for a long time. He called today to invite me back to the old house for dinner.

"Don't worry, I'll take Miss Clara for a nap now," the maid replies.

"The weather is nice today. After three o'clock, wake her up and take her to the garden outside to sit for a while," I add.

"Okay."

Then I leave.

When I arrive at the old mansion, my father is sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper. His wife brings out freshly baked cookies and smiles, inviting me to taste them when she sees me come in.

She's not my biological mother; she's someone my father married later on. Our relationship isn't too bad, but it's not very close either. We maintain a superficial harmony.

Under her expectant gaze, I pick up a cookie, take a bite, and say, "Not bad."

Dinner is mostly made to my taste. Halfway through the meal, my father suddenly says, "The daughter of my old friend is about the right age for marriage, her name is Elizabeth. Make time to meet her this weekend."

I put down my knife and fork. "I won't meet her."

his expression immediately darkens. "No? How old are you now? I didn't even ask you to get married right away, just spend some time with her first."

"I have a woman with me now," I say.

"Who? That psychiatric patient?" His expression remains indifferent, but his gaze sharpens. "I don't care if you're taking care of her out of guilt or for some other reason, but with her condition, she can't give you a child."

"What are you talking about? I don't intend for her to have children," I find his thought process unbelievable.

He also sets down his utensils. "So you better hurry up and meet Elizabeth for me, give birth to the next generation heir to the family."

I toss the napkin onto the table and scoff, "Did you call me back today just to talk about this?"

"I think I've let you run wild outside for too long. Now you have the guts to argue with me here." My father's tone turns harsh.

"Lucas, your friend you used to hang out with, has settled down. He got married six months ago and now his wife is pregnant!"

"We haven't been in touch for a long time." I cross my arms and lean back in my chair. In fact, Lucas sent me an invitation when he got married, but I didn't go.

"So, do you meet often?" I squint at my father and ask, "Tell me, besides his wife being pregnant, what else did he tell you?"

My father suddenly falls silent.

"Clara being with me, was that also something Lucas told you?" I continue.

"Arthur..." Seeing the tension, my stepmother calls my name softly, "Your father just cares about you..."

"Answer me!" I stand up suddenly.

"We're talking about your marriage issue now!" He also stands up.

"Silence means yes. Okay, fine." I walk to the foyer and pick up my suit jacket.

But he continues behind me "I don't care about all this. You're in charge of the company now, but I'm still the chairman! If you still want the family property, you better go meet Elizabeth this weekend. Otherwise, I won't hesitate to interfere."

I leave without looking back. My stomach hurts, and I even feel like vomiting the few bites of food I just had.

I drive almost recklessly and take out my Bluetooth earpiece to call Lucas, asking him where he is.

It's noisy on the phone, like he's at a pub. And Lucas sounds drunk, his speech unclear, but he's very excited. He says it's been a long time since I contacted him, then gives me an address.

I hang up the phone and drive downtown. When I arrive at the pub, I directly find the manager. "Take me to Lucas."

The manager suddenly sees me and looks a bit stunned. Then he immediately leads me to the elevator, nodding and bowing as he says, "Mr. Arthur, why didn't you notify us in advance when you came? We can greet you outside..."

I remain silent with a cold expression on my face. The manager awkwardly smiles, sweat breaking out on his forehead.

Lucas is in the VIP box on the third floor, with two waiters standing at the door. When they see us coming, they quickly bow and open the door.

The box is large, with a small dance floor in front of the sofa. Several men and women are dancing closely. Lucas is sitting on the sofa drinking, with a beautiful woman beside him. His hand reaches under the woman's skirt, groping around.

I turn on the overhead lights, and everyone stops and looks at me. I stay silent and walk straight to Lucas, grabbing his collar and dragging him towards the bathroom.

Lucas bends over, coughing violently, breathing heavily, and finally calms down. He wipes the water from his face and looks up at me, his eyes clear now and full of anger. "Are you crazy?"

I unbutton my cufflinks, roll up my wet sleeves, and sneer: "You were the one who revealed her existence to my father in the first place?"

He knows who I'm referring to.

"Your father... came to me and asked, so I told him," Lucas coughs again.

I grab Lucas by the collar and push him against the wall, resisting the urge to hit him. "Then he asked you to set a $400,000 trap for her in the hospital?"

Lucas stares at me with no fear in his eyes. "That's Clara's choice! Do you blame me for that too?"

My fist finally hits Lucas in the face.

I look at Lucas angrily, "If it wasn't her choice, if you forced her, do you think I would just come to settle the score with you now!?"

"She originally chose me, and she borrowed money from me, but I couldn't get it out. Then you showed up and told her she could sell herself! Four hundred thousand in one night, and everything was solved. You bastard! "

Now Lucas is no longer hiding anything, and his fists come at me. "So it's all my fault now to help you feel less guilty? It's all my fault that you and Clara have come to this point today!? I imprisoned her, I gave her injections, and I led people to dig up her husband's ashes..."

"Shut up!" My chest heaves violently.

I really can't blame everything on Lucas, because I personally crushed her step by step.

"Since you want to be honest today, let me tell you once and for all." Lucas breathes heavily and glares at me fiercely, "I've had enough of you for a long time. Why can you be different when we were both born wealthy and raised to accept everything the family arranged? Why can you be the only one with a dream?"

"You deserve to stop racing and deserve to have your dad manipulate you."

"There are still some things you don't know. Your father went to Clara before and gave her a check, hoping that she would persuade you to give up racing and go back to inherit the family business. But guess what？She refused..."

I throw another punch. This time it hits the mirror, sending it flying all over the floor.

My hand feels numb and is bleeding a lot, but I can't feel any pain.